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Supportive, non-judgemental communication during and after disclosure helped resolve emotional injury and enabled a reconceptualization of self as separated.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-female-spouse-a-process-of-separation-when-a-husbandcomes-out-as-gay-research-article/147262/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-female-spouse-a-process-of-separation-when-a-husbandcomes-out-as-gay-research-article/147262.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Felix Montgomery","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-08-26",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",17,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What was the focus of the study described in the abstract?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study examined the experiences of heterosexual women whose husbands came out as gay and who subsequently faced marital separation.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which research method was used?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the women’s stories.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What factors helped the participants with emotional resolution?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Positive communication with their husband during and after disclosure supported resolution of emotional injury, and non-judgemental support helped women refocus on their needs.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},147262,1787760960,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":109,"preview_page_count":4},549768064778,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","OPEN ACCESS  \nCitation: Daly SC, MacNeela P, Sarma KM (2018) The female spouse: A process of separation when a husband 'comes out' as gay. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0203472 . [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal). pone.0203472  \nEditor: Olalekan Uthman, The University of Warwick, UNITED KINGDOM  \nReceived: March 24, 2018  \nAccepted: August 21, 2018  \nPublished: August 30, 2018  \nCopyright: © 2018 Daly et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.  \nData Availability Statement: Due to the nature of the data used in this study-individual testimony, where individuals discuss their histories in detail, it was not possible to fully anonymise the full transcripts to the level that participants could not, under any conditions, be identified. Consequently we do not have ethical approval from our institutional ethics committee to lodge the transcripts to a public repository. Data transcripts requests, however, may be submitted to: The Chairperson of the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) Research Ethics Committee (Email:  \n[ethics@nuigalway.ie](ethics@nuigalway.ie)) .  \nRESEARCH ARTICLE  \nThe female spouse: A process of separation when a husband'comes out' as gay  \nSiobhÂan C. Daly *☯, PÂadraig MacNeela☯, Kiran M. Sarma☯  \nSchool of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland  \n☯ These authors contributed equally to this work.  \n* [siobhancdaly@gmail.com](siobhancdaly@gmail.com)  \nAbstract  \nThis study investigated the stories of heterosexual women who experienced a husband coming out as gay and a consequential marital separation. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used. Loss, anger, spousal empathy and concerns regarding societal prejudice were reported. Additional stress was experienced when others minimised the experience due to the gay sexual orientation of their husband. Experiencing positive communication with their husband during and after the disclosure aided the resolution of the emotional injury experienced by them. They all eventually `let go' of their husband. This involved a process of reconceptualising the self as separated. Findings indicate the importance of supporting women to re-focus on their needs during and following marital dissolution. The importance of non-judgemental support for marital loss, rather than a focus on the gay sexual orientation of the spouse, was highlighted.  \nIntroduction  \nWhen a husband `comes out' as gay (accepting and revealing oneself as gay), it impacts the family unit. Yet little is known about the experiences ofthe heterosexual spouse. Marriages where one partner comes out face the potential stigma of a `failed marriage' in addition to the possibility of homophobia [ 1] . Stress and anxiety regarding the implications ofa gay identity being at odds with their religious faith or community ofthe couple can occur [2, 3] . The altered sexual orientation identity of a spouse may include changes in behaviour, group affiliation, personal values and norms [4, 5] . Moreover, a fear of rejection by family, friends, or a religious community can result in suppression and isolation, especially in more conservative or homophobic environments [6, 7] .  \nIt seems reasonable to assume that the experience of a spouse having same-sex desires resonates with families within which extra-marital affairs occur (e.g. husbands with other women) . For the wife, these would include distress at the rupture in the emotional bond with her husband [8] and feelings of betrayal [9] . More broadly, concern for children, emotional turmoil and loss, financial uncertainty, changing family and social ties and loss of, and desire for, companionship, may arise as they do in any marital crises [ 10, 11] . Marital dissolution rates are high across Western countries [ 12","cbCaigPl6A2zhjXs","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigPl6A2zhjXs","pdf",1025116,16,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Impact of disclosure on family systems\n## Stigma, anxiety, and community or faith conflicts\n## Comparisons to other marital crises and divorce support needs\n## Relationship maintenance options and consequences","[{\"question\":\"What was the focus of the study described in the abstract?\",\"answer\":\"The study examined the experiences of heterosexual women whose husbands came out as gay and who subsequently faced marital separation.\"},{\"question\":\"Which research method was used?\",\"answer\":\"Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the women’s stories.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors helped the participants with emotional resolution?\",\"answer\":\"Positive communication with their husband during and after disclosure supported resolution of emotional injury, and non-judgemental support helped women refocus on their needs.\"}]","The female spouse - A process of separation when a husband'comes out' as gay - Research article | PDF"]